Page:Trivia (John Gay) to which is added London (Samuel Johnson) (1809).djvu/40

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Let not the virgin tread these slipp'ry roads;
The gath'ring fleece the hollow patten loads:
But if thy footsteps slide with clotted frost,325
Strike off the breaking balls against the post.
On silent wheel the passing coaches roll:
Oft look behind, and ward the threatning pole.
In harden'd orbs the school-boy moulds the snow,
To mark the coachman with a dext'rous throw.330
Why do ye, boys! the kennel's surface spread,
To tempt with faithless pass the matron's tread
How can ye laugh to see the damsel spurn,
Sink in the frauds, and her green stocking mourn?
At White's the harness chairman idly stands,335
And swings around his waist his tingling hands.
The sempstress speeds to 'Change with red-tipt nose;
The Belgian stove beneath her footstool glows:
In half-whipt muslin needles useless lie,
And shuttlecocks across the counter fly.—340
These sports warm harmless; why then will ye prove,
Deluded maids! the dang'rous flame of love?
Where Covent Garden's famous temple stands,
That boasts the work of Jones' immortal hands,